A wide variety of insect bait devices, for exterminating insects and particularly roaches, are known in the art. However, the known insect bait devices are, for the most part, complex devices which are either expensive to manufacture, do not provide for ease of use by the consumer, or are generally ineffective for their intended purpose. Moreover, the known insect bait devices having housings with different top and bottom portions often lead to increased manufacturing costs, and typically require that the bait device be oriented in a specific manner when utilized for insect-exterminating purposes.
Generally, the known insect bait devices comprise a housing having a top portion and a bottom portion. Such a bottom housing portion typically includes means for allowing entry of an insect into the bait device, and further typically includes a baiting ingredient or attractant for attracting the insect into the device. After being drawn into the bait device by the attractant, the insect is typically subjected to an insecticide material.
Generally, insecticide materials comprise either (1) an insecticide that is adapted to be ingested by the insect for causing insect extermination (hereafter referred to as an "ingestable" insecticide), or (2) an insecticide that is adapted to come into contact with the insect body so as to be either absorbed through the insect body and/or ingested by the insect while grooming, for causing extermination of the insect (hereafter referred to as a "contact-type" insecticide).
Specific examples of prior art insect bait devices include the following U.S. Patents.
U.S. Pat. No. 529,109 to Burgess discloses a roach trap having a box-like bottom portion that is adapted to retain an insect attractant together with an insecticide, has a screened top portion, and has tubes designed to allow the insect to enter but not leave the trap.
U.S. Pat. No. 1,372,780 to Schenke discloses an insect bait device having a housing comprised of a bottom (base) portion and a top (dome) portion, wherein the housing dome defines openings for entry of the insect. The dome (which includes integral, radially-disposed outwardly-extending flanges) and the base portions are secured together by means of a tubular socket that is integral with the base. The tubular socket circumferentially extends from the base and is designed to receive and engage the dome flanges. A pad, treated with an insecticide, is loosely supported on the base. The pad is held in place in the housing by the socket-engaged flanges which urge the pad against the base.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,315,772 to Closs discloses a bait device for exterminating insects, comprising a sheet-like material having a nap surface on one face thereof, with a contact-type insecticide distributed throughout the nap surface. Upon grooming, the insect is alleged to ingest the insecticide and thereby become exterminated. This patent further discloses an insect bait device housing defining an opening that allows insects to enter the device, wherein the housing comprises a bottom (base) portion with connecting sidewalls and a top (cover) portion, and wherein the insect bait device contains an insect baiting ingredient secured between the bottom and top housing portions. The sheet-like material can be secured to each of the base and cover housing portions.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,563,836 to Woodruff et al. discloses an insect-feeding station comprising a housing that includes a bottom (base) portion with sidewalls which define openings for the insect. The insect-feeding station contains an insect attractant and an insecticide, and further includes a top (cover) portion that is secured to the base by an adhesive. This patent teaches utilizing a one-piece thermoformed base having an inner guide and baffle walls to conceal the poison that is to be injested by the insect. This patent further discloses a method of manufacture whereby a sheet of plastic is vacuum-formed over a mold to form a plurality of base-portion units.
Additional U.S. Patents disclosing various types of insect bait devices include the following: U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,328,590; 2,328,591; and 2,340,256, all to Weil; U.S. Pat. No. 3,931,692 to Hermanson; U.S. Pat. No. 4,031,653 to Jordan; and U.S. Pat. No. 4,395,842 to Mangulies. Each of these patents discloses an insect bait device housing having a bottom (base) portion and top (cover) portion of different construction.
Still further, various types or forms of specific, ingestable-type or contact-type insecticide compositions are well known in the art. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 3,152,040 to Fondren teaches the incorporation of a specific insecticide composition into an absorbent article. The insecticidal material utilized in this patent, in particular, is a molecular complex of piperazine and carbon disulfide. The specific insecticide composition taught is utilized in combination with an attractant, a surfactant, and water.
Additional patents disclosing other specific insecticidal compositions known in the art include U.S. Pat. No. 2,011,428 to Voorhees; U.S. Pat. No. 2,091,935 to Remy et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 2,172,689 to O'Kane et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 2,875,128 to Kirkpatrick et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 3,184,380 to Woods; U.S. Pat. No. 3,325,355 to Goodhue; U.S. Pat. No. 3,632,631 to Wright; U.S. Pat. No. 3,826,036 to Neugebauer; U.S. Pat. No. 4,049,460 to Broadbent; U.S. Pat. No. 4,332,792 to Kohn et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 4,388,297 to Naffziger; and U.S. Pat No. Re. 24,184 to Sanders et al.
The prior-art insect bait devices, as exemplified by the above-discussed and otherwise mentioned patents, have generally been found to be either complex, expensive, or ineffective. That is, the patents discussed above disclose various methods of manufacturing insect bait devices, which methods are, for the most part, complex, time-consuming, or expensive to reduce to practice. More particularly, the prior art insect bait devices have not provided the user with an effective, simple, and inexpensively-constructed insect bait device having housing portions that are so constructed as to enable the device to be oriented on either its "top" or "bottom" surfaces.